Dynamic, single photodiode pixel circuit and operating method thereof

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to pixel circuit and an operating method thereof, comprising—a front-end circuit ( 1 ) comprising a single photodiode (PD) and having an output ( 4 ), said front-end circuit ( 1 ) being configured for delivering on said output a photoreceptor signal derived from a light exposure of said single photodiode (PD);—a transient detector circuit ( 2 ) configured for detecting a change in said photoreceptor signal delivered on said output ( 4 );—an exposure measurement circuit ( 3 ) configured for measuring said photoreceptor signal delivered on said output ( 4 ) upon detection by the transient detector circuit ( 2 ) of a change in the photoreceptor signal. The invention also relates to an image sensor comprising a plurality of pixel circuits

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/827,422, filed Nov. 30, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/022,319, filed Mar. 16, 2016 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,967,479), which is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2014/069611 filed Sep. 15, 2014, which claims priority from European Application No. 13306260.4, filed Sep. 16, 2013. All of the foregoing applications are incorporated herein by reference.

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a pixel circuit for an image sensor. More specifically, it relates to a pixel circuit and an operating method thereof, wherein an exposure measurement circuit is configured for measuring the light exposure intensity from a photoreceptor signal derived from a light exposure of a single photoreceptor, upon detection by a transient detector circuit of a change in said photoreceptor signal.

Conventional image sensors acquire the visual information time-quantized at a predetermined frame rate. Each frame carries the information from all pixels, regardless of whether or not this information has changed since the last frame has been acquired. This approach obviously results, depending on the dynamic contents of the scene, in a more or less high degree of redundancy in the recorded image data. The problem worsens as modern image sensors advance to ever higher spatial and temporal resolution. The hardware required for post-processing of the data increases in complexity and cost, demand on transmission bandwidth and data storage capacity surges and the power consumption rises, leading to severe limitations in all kinds of vision applications, from demanding high-speed industrial vision systems to mobile, battery-powered consumer devices.

One approach to dealing with temporal redundancy in video data is frame difference encoding. This simplest form of video compression includes transmitting only pixel values that exceed a defined intensity change threshold from frame to frame after an initial key-frame. Known frame differencing imagers rely on acquisition and processing of full frames of image data and are not able to self-consistently suppress temporal redundancy and provide real-time compressed video output. Furthermore, even when the processing and difference quantization is done at the pixel-level, the temporal resolution of the acquisition of the scene dynamics, as in all frame-based imaging devices, is still limited to the achievable frame rate and is time-quantized to this frame rate.

The adverse effects of data redundancy are most effectively avoided by not recording the redundant data in the first place and directly reducing data volume at the sensor output level. The immediate benefits are reductions in bandwidth, memory and computing power requirements for data transmission and post-processing, hence decreasing system power, complexity and cost. In addition, the frame-based, clocked principle of operation of conventional CMOS or CCD image sensors leads to limitations in temporal resolution as scene dynamics are quantized to the frame rate at which the pixel field of view is read out, and poor dynamic range.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for the continuous acquisition of the full visual information of an observed dynamic scene with high temporal and intensity resolution, over a wide dynamic range (of recordable and processable light intensity) and thereby generating the minimum necessary amount of data volume. Thus, the generated data are not constituted by a succession of frames containing the image information of all pixels, but an (asynchronous) stream of change and intensity (i.e. grey level) information of individual pixels, which are recorded and transmitted only if an actual change in light intensity in the field of view of the individual pixel has been detected by the pixel itself.

This method leads to a substantial reduction of generated data through complete suppression of the temporal redundancy in the picture information that is typical for conventional image sensors, though with the data containing the same, or even higher, information content. The picture element for an image sensor that implements the aforementioned method as well as the required asynchronous data readout mechanism can be realized on basis of analogue electronic circuits. An image sensor with a multiplicity of such picture elements is typically realized and fabricated as an integrated system-on-chip e.g. in CMOS technology.

Implementing such a sensor and thus avoiding the above mentioned drawbacks of conventional image data acquisition would be beneficial for a wide range of artificial vision applications including industrial high-speed vision (e.g. fast object recognition, motion detection and analysis, object tracking, etc.), automotive (e.g. real-time 3D stereo vision for collision warning and avoidance, intelligent rear-view mirrors, etc.), surveillance and security (scene surveillance) or robotics (autonomous navigation, SLAM) as well as biomedical and scientific imaging applications. As the sensor operation is inspired by working principles of the human retina, one advantageous example application is the treatment of a degenerated retina of a blind patient with an implantable prosthesis device based on the data delivered by such a sensor.

A solution for achieving the aforementioned complete temporal redundancy suppression is based on pixel-individual pre-processing and acquiring of the image information, event-controlled (i.e. independently of external timing control such as clock, shutter or reset signals) and conditionally (i.e. only when changes in the scene have been detected). As explained below, the control of the image data acquisition is transferred to the pixel-level and can be done at very high temporal resolution (e.g. fully asynchronously).

In the case of the optical transient sensor, or dynamic vision sensor (DVS), changes in lighting intensity received by the individual, autonomously operating pixels are detected by an electronic circuit, “a transient detector”, described in patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,728,269.

U.S. patent application US 2010/0182468 A1 discloses combining transient detector circuits, i.e. light exposure intensity changes detector circuits, and conditional exposure measurement circuits. A transient detector circuit individually and asynchronously initiates the measurement of a new exposure measure only if—and immediately after—a brightness change of a certain magnitude has been detected in the field-of-view of a pixel. Such a pixel does not rely on external timing signals and independently requests access to an (asynchronous and arbitrated) output channel only when it has a new grayscale value to communicate. Consequently, a pixel that is not stimulated visually does not produce output. In addition, the asynchronous operation avoids the time quantization of frame-based acquisition and scanning readout.

For each pixel, the transient detector circuit monitors a photoreceptor voltage derived from a first photodiode for detecting relative voltage changes that exceed a threshold. Upon such detection, the transient detector circuit outputs a command for the exposure measurement circuit of the same pixel to start an absolute intensity measurement, i.e. an absolute grey level measurement. The exposure measurement circuit uses a second photodiode of the pixel, placed adjacent to the first photodiode, and derives its measure from the time duration for discharging the photodiode junction capacitance with the instantaneous photocurrent.

However, the pixel circuit disclosed in US 2010/0182468 A1 is not optimal since it consumes a large area for a pixel element and thus cannot achieve high resolution. Furthermore, time-based exposure measurement through direct photocurrent integration often leads to a prohibitively long measurement time of a new exposure value, especially at low pixel illuminance levels, due to the corresponding small photocurrents. Finally using two separate photodiodes for change detection and exposure measurement leads to spatial divergence and motion direction dependency of the image data acquisition process, resulting in a reduction in imaging quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention aims at providing a pixel circuit with smaller area requirements, allowing for larger array sizes or smaller sensor chip dimensions. The invention also aims at speeding up the individual measurement processes and consequently increasing temporal resolution. Furthermore, the invention aims at avoiding spatial divergence between change detection and exposure measurement caused by a use of two separate photodiodes, improving measurement accuracy and consequently image quality.

In this respect, the invention relates to a pixel circuit comprising:

-   -   a front-end circuit comprising a single photodiode and having an         output, said front-end circuit being configured for delivering         on said output a photoreceptor signal derived from a light         exposure of said single photodiode;     -   a transient detector circuit configured for detecting a change         in said photoreceptor signal delivered on said output;     -   an exposure measurement circuit configured for measuring said         photoreceptor signal delivered on said output upon detection by         the transient detector circuit of a change in the photoreceptor         signal.

In contrast to the prior art circuits wherein exposure changes were detected on a photodiode and exposure measurements were made on another photodiode, the proposed pixel circuit requires only one photodiode per pixel. Accordingly, the surface consumption of the pixel element can be reduced significantly, allowing for larger array sizes or smaller sensor chip dimensions. Resolution can also be increased. Also, the spatial divergence between change detection and exposure measurement is avoided, improving measurement accuracy and consequently image quality. Very advantageously, the duration of a grey level measurement can be significantly reduced as explained below, significantly improving the temporal resolution of the image data acquisition process.

Other preferred, although non limitative, aspects of the pixel circuit are as follows, isolated or in a technically feasible combination:

-   the exposure measurement circuit comprises     -   an input connected to the output of the front-end circuit for         receiving the photoreceptor signal,     -   a capacitor connected by a first switch to said input, said         first switch being configured for disconnecting said capacitor         from said input,     -   a source current in series with a second switch, parallel to         said capacitor, said second switch being configured for         controlling a discharge of said capacitor; -   the exposure measurement circuit comprises a voltage comparator     having a signal input connected to one of the terminal of the     capacitor and a reference input connected to a reference voltage; -   the voltage comparator has:     -   a signal input connected to one of the terminal of the capacitor         and     -   a reference input connected to reference switch configured for         selectively connecting said reference input to at least two         reference voltages;     -   the transient detector circuit comprises an amplifier having two         single-ended inverting common-source stages with capacitive         feedback separated by a follower buffer wherein a first         capacitor is charged by means of the photoreceptor signal, and         at least one threshold detector is arranged to detect if a         voltage over another capacitor exceeds a threshold value; -   the front-end circuit comprises a photoreceptor circuit connected to     the single diode, the photoreceptor circuit comprises:     -   an output for delivering the photoreceptor signal derived from         the light exposure of said single photodiode,     -   a first photoreceptor transistor having a drain and a gate, the         gate of said first photoreceptor transistor being connected to         said output,     -   an additional photoreceptor transistor having a drain, a source         and a gate, the source of said additional photoreceptor         transistor being connected to said single photodiode and,

wherein said first and additional photoreceptor transistors have a common source;

-   the gate of additional photoreceptor transistor is biased by a     biasing voltage or is connected to the common source of the first     and additional photoreceptor transistors; -   the front-end circuit further comprises a gain stage for amplifying     the photoreceptor signal delivered on the output of the front-end     circuit, said gain stage comprising:     -   an input connected to the output of a photoreceptor circuit,     -   an output,     -   a first gain transistor having a drain, a source and a gate, the         gate of the first gain transistor being connected to the input         of the gain stage, the source of the first gain transistor being         connected to a biasing voltage and the drain of said first gain         transistor being connected to the output of said gain stage, and     -   a plurality of gain transistors in series, each gain transistor         of the series having a drain, a source and a gate, each gain         transistors of the series having its drain connected to its         gate, and one of said plurality of gain transistors in series         having its drain connected to the drain of the first gain         transistor.

The invention also relates to an image sensor comprising a plurality of pixel circuits according to a possible embodiment of the invention.

The invention also relates to a method for operating a pixel circuit according to one of the possible embodiment of the invention, wherein a light exposure measurement cycle of a photodiode by means of the exposure measurement circuit is initiated by detection by the transient detector circuit of a change in the photoreceptor signal derived from the intensity of the incident light at said photodiode.

Other preferred, although non limitative, aspects of the pixel circuit are as follows, isolated or in a technically feasible combination:

-   a light exposure measurement cycle of a photodiode by means of the     exposure measurement circuit can also be initiated through an     externally applied control signal independent from any detection in     the photoreceptor signal derived from the intensity of the incident     light at said photodiode; -   the light exposure of the photodiode is measured by determining the     time for the voltage across a discharging capacitor of the exposure     measurement circuit to reach at least one reference voltage; -   there is a first reference voltage and a second reference voltage,     said first reference voltage being higher than said second reference     voltage, and wherein the light exposure of the photodiode is     measured by determining and comparing:     -   a first duration corresponding to the time for the voltage         across a discharging capacitor of the exposure measurement         circuit to reach said first reference voltage, and     -   a second duration corresponding to the time for the voltage         across said discharging capacitor of the exposure measurement         circuit to reach said second reference voltage; -   before the exposure measurement cycle, the capacitor of the exposure     measurement circuit is charged by a voltage corresponding to the     photoreceptor signal; -   the exposure measurement circuit comprises :     -   an input connected to the output of the front-end circuit for         receiving the photoreceptor signal,     -   a capacitor connected by a first switch to said input, said         first switch being configured for disconnecting said capacitor         from said input,     -   a source current in series with a second switch, parallel to         said capacitor, said

second switch being configured for controlling a discharge of said capacitor, and the exposure measurement cycle comprises at least the following steps:

-   -   opening a first switch for disconnecting the measurement         capacitor from the input of the measurement exposure circuit,     -   closing the second switch for allowing the discharge of the         capacitor,     -   determining the time for the discharging capacitor of the         exposure to reach at least one reference voltage,     -   determining the light exposure of the photodiode from the         determined discharging time of the capacitor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, given as non-limiting examples, and made with reference to the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a pixel circuit according to a possible embodiment of the invention,

FIGS. 2 and 3 show simplified diagrams of exemplary embodiments of transient detector circuits for detecting changes in the photoreceptor signal;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show simplified diagrams of exemplary embodiments of the exposure measurement circuit for measuring the photoreceptor signal;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show simplified diagrams of exemplary embodiments of photoreceptor circuits;

FIG. 8 shows a simplified diagram of a gain stage for amplifying changes in the photoreceptor signal prior to its exploitation by the transient detector circuit and by the exposure measurement circuit;

FIG. 9 shows an image sensor comprising a plurality of pixel circuits according to the invention.

FIG. 10 shows an alternative block diagram of a pixel circuit according to a possible embodiment of the invention, connected to a pixel-external analog-to-digital converter.

In all figures, the same reference characters refer to the same elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A simplified diagram of a pixel circuit according to a possible embodiment is shown in FIG. 1. The pixel circuit comprises a front-end circuit 1, a transient detector circuit 2, and an exposure measurement circuit 3. The front-end circuit 1 comprises a single photodiode PD and has an output 4. The photodiode PD converts incident light into a photocurrent I_(ph) determined by the light exposure of said single photodiode PD. The front-end circuit 1 also comprises a photoreceptor circuit 5 and a gain stage 6 for generating a photoreceptor signal derived from the light exposure of said single photodiode PD. The photoreceptor signal is delivered at the output 4 of the front-end circuit 1 in order to be exploited by both the transient detector circuit 2 and the exposure measurement circuit 3.

The transient detector circuit 2 is configured for detecting a change in the photoreceptor signal delivered on the front-end circuit output 4. The transient detector circuit 2 continuously monitors the photoreceptor signal for changes and responds with a signal that identifies a fractional increase or decrease in the photoreceptor signal that exceeds adjustable thresholds.

The exposure measurement circuit 3 is configured for measuring the photoreceptor signal delivered on the output 4 of the front-end circuit 1. The exposure measurement cycle is initiated if the transient detector 2 circuit has detected a change in the photoreceptor signal, but it can also be initiated through an externally applied control signal independent from any change detection.

Transient Detector Circuit

U.S. Pat. No. 7,728,269 discloses a transient detector circuit that can be used in some embodiments of the invention. Principles of such a transient detector circuit are explained below.

A simplified diagram of the transient detector circuit 2 for detecting changes in the photoreceptor signal is shown on FIG. 2. The input signal V_(front) at the input 20 of the transient detector circuit 2 is the photoreceptor signal V_(front) at output 4 of the front-end circuit 1. The transient detector circuit 2 comprises a first capacitor C₁. One of the terminals of said first capacitor C₁ is connected to the input 20 of the transient detector circuit 2, i.e. it is connected to the output 4 of the font-end circuit 1. The other terminal of the first capacitor C₁ is connected to an amplifier A1, a second capacitor C₂ and a reset switch S_(RS), said amplifier A1, second capacitor C₂ and reset switch S_(RS) being arranged in parallel, and connected on one end to the first capacitor C₁ and on the other end to a common node Diff. Capacitances and gain are chosen so as to define a self-timed, self-balancing switched-capacitor amplifier. Two voltage comparators 7, 8, respectively detect upward and downward changes of the voltage V_(Diff) at the common node Diff. The voltage comparators 7, 8, have the common node Diff at their inputs, and their outputs are connected to a logic circuit 9.

Changes of the photoreceptor signal are amplified by the capacitively coupled inverting amplifier A1 and appear as a deviation from a defined voltage level (operating point after a reset event) at the node Diff. If the signal at the common node Diff crosses certain adjustable threshold levels, this event is detected by one of two voltage comparators 7, 8, which sends a signal to the logic circuit 9, and a request signal (Vreq,rel+ or Vreq,rel−, depending on the direction of the detected change) is activated by the logic circuit 9.

Upon receiving the request signal, Vreq,rel+ or Vreq,rel−, and retrieving associated pixel data (see below), an external data receiver (not shown) sends back an acknowledge signal Vack,rel that is turned into a reset signal RST by the logic block 9. The reset signal RST controls the reset switch S_(RS), and such an activation closes the reset switch S_(RS). Accordingly, the input node of the amplifier A1 is short-circuited to its output and the operating point of the amplifier A1 is reset. Subsequently the request signal is deactivated and the circuit is ready for detecting a new change event.

The request signal Vreq,rel+ or Vreq,rel− is also used to generate the control signal Vres,abs sent to the exposure measurement circuit 3 to initiate an absolute exposure measurement, making this measurement conditional to the prior detection of a change in pixel illuminance, signaled by the transient circuit detector 2. Alternatively, the entire (1 or 2-dimensional) pixel array can be initiated to execute an exposure measurement simultaneously in all pixels by an externally applied control signal.

The request signals Vreq,rel+ and Vreq,rel− are sent to a bus arbiter (not shown) which initiates and controls the transmission of data packets. In this way changes in photodiode illumination are detected and as a result, the array address of the respective pixel is transmitted with low latency over an asynchronous data bus (not shown), thereby signaling the coordinates in space and (inherently) in time of the detected change. The direction of change (increase or decrease) for each event is determined by which one of the two comparators detects the event.

FIG. 3 illustrates an improvement of the transient detector circuit 2, wherein a two-stage amplifier is used instead of the single capacitively coupled inverting amplifier whereby greatest temporal contrast sensitivity can be achieved. Such a structure is disclosed in the article of C. Posch, D. Matolin and R. Wohlgenannt, “A Two-Stage Capacitive-Feedback Differencing Amplifier for Temporal Contrast IR Sensors”, Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing Journal, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 45-54, 2010.

The two-stage topology of single-ended inverting common-source stages with capacitive feedback, operating in the sub-threshold region and separated by a follower buffer A_(SF), allows a significant increase in amplifier gain per unit area and leads to reduced charge injection noise (as explained below), consequently improving the temporal contrast sensitivity of the transient detector circuit.

The first stage has a first capacitor C₁ connected by one of its terminal to the input 20 of the transient detector circuit 2,

The other terminal of the first capacitor C₁ is connected to a first amplifier A1, a second capacitor C₂ and a first reset switch S_(RS1), said first amplifier A1, second capacitor C₂ and first reset switch S_(RS) being arranged in parallel, and connected on one end to the first capacitor C₁ and on the other end to a first node Diff₁. The second capacitor C₂ is thus being charged by means of the photoreceptor signal at the output 4 of the front-end circuit 1.

The follower buffer A_(SF) separates the two stages. It is connected on one end to the first node Diff₁ of the first stage and on the other end to a terminal of a third capacitor C₃ that belongs to the second stage. The other terminal of the third capacitor C₃ is connected to a second amplifier A2, a fourth capacitor C₄ and a second reset switch S_(RS2), said second amplifier A2, fourth capacitor C₄ and second reset switch S_(RS2) being arranged in parallel, and connected on one end to the third capacitor C₃ and on the other end to a second node Diff₂. The two voltage comparators 7, 8, are connected to the second stage through the second node Diff₂. The two voltage comparators 7, 8 are threshold detectors arranged to detect if a voltage over the fourth capacitor C₄ exceeds threshold values, and if it does, a signal is sent to the control logic 9, and a request signal (Vreq,rel+ or Vreq,rel−, depending on the direction of the detected change) is activated by the logic circuit 9 as described above).

With both amplifier stages having similar gain, the charge injection in the first stage through the first reset switch S_(RS1) has a greater impact on the amplified signal at second node Diff₂ than a charge injection in the second stage through the second reset switch S_(RS2). To eliminate the effect of the charge injection of the first reset switch S_(RS1), it is sufficient to guarantee that the second stage is turned on sufficiently after the first stage. This is achieved by appropriately delaying the switching of the second reset switch S_(RS2) with respect to the first reset switch S_(RS1).

A reset control circuit RCC is thus provided, which receives the reset signal RST from the logic circuit 9 and outputs a first reset signal RST₁ controlling the first reset switch S_(RS1) and a second reset signal RST₂ controlling the second reset switch S_(RS2). The first and second reset signals can thus be controlled in order to eliminate the charge injection due to the first reset switch S_(RS1).

Exposure Measurement

A light exposure measurement cycle of a photodiode by means of the exposure measurement circuit 3 is usually initiated by detection, by the transient detector circuit 2, of a change in the photoreceptor signal derived from the intensity of the incident light at the photodiode PD. The light exposure of the photodiode PD is measured by determining the time for a voltage across a discharging capacitor C_(s) of the exposure measurement circuit 3 to reach at least a reference voltage. Before the exposure measurement cycle, the measurement capacitor Cs of the exposure measurement circuit 3 is charged by a voltage corresponding to the photoreceptor signal.

Exposure Measurement Circuit—1^(st) Embodiment

FIG. 4 shows a simplified diagram of an example of the exposure measurement circuit 3 for measuring the photoreceptor signal according to a possible embodiment of the invention. The exposure measurement circuit 3 comprises an input 30 connected to the output 4 of the front-end circuit 1 for receiving the photoreceptor signal. A measurement capacitor C_(S) is connected by a first switch S_(S) to the input 30. A unity-gain buffer 13 may be provided at the input 30. The first switch S_(S) is configured for connecting or disconnecting the measurement capacitor Cs from the input 30, and is controlled to this end by a measurement control signal V_(EM). The measurement control signal V_(EM) is derived by logic block 12 from the control signal V_(res,abs) sent by the control logic 9 of the transient detector circuit 2 upon detection of a change in the photoreceptor signal.

The measurement capacitor C_(s) and the first switch S_(S) are connected through a common node S. The other terminal of the measurement capacitor C_(S) is grounded. In parallel to the measurement capacitor C_(s), a current source 10 is arranged in series with a second switch S₂. The second switch S₂ is also controlled by the measurement control signal V_(EM) and is configured for controlling a discharge of the measurement capacitor C_(S). When the second switch S₂ is not passing (open state), the branch of the current source 10 is open, and thus the measurement capacitor C_(S) cannot discharge. When the second switch S₂ is passing (closed state), the branch of the current source 10 is closed, and thus the measurement capacitor C_(S) can discharge through this branch. The second switch S₂ is connected to ground, or it may be connected to any current sink. The first and second switches may be implemented as MOS transistors. It shall be noted that for illustration purposes, the first switch S_(S) and the second switch S₂ are both depicted in an open state at the same time, but in operation only one of them is open while the other is closed. The same applies for the switches of FIG. 5.

The exposure measurement circuit 3 comprises a voltage comparator 11, having a signal input connected to one of the terminals of the measurement capacitor Cs and a reference input connected a reference voltage V_(ref). The terminal of the measurement capacitor Cs connected to the measurement comparator 11 is the common node S to which are connected the first switch S_(S) and the current source 10. The output of the voltage comparator 11 is fed to a logic circuit 12. The logic circuit 12 is responsible for controlling the status of the exposure measurement cycle and for the (asynchronous) transmission of the pixel signals, and hence of the result of the exposure measurement, to an address encoder and bus arbiter (not shown).

For exposure measurement, the instantaneous voltage V_(S) at the common node S, to which the measurement capacitor Cs and the current source 10 are connected, is used. The instantaneous voltage V_(S) can be approximated as V _(s) =k ₁ ln(I _(ph))+k ₂ wherein I_(ph) is the intensity of the photocurrent of the photodiode PD of the front-end circuit 1, k₁ and k₂ are constant factors. The instantaneous value of the voltage V_(S) relates logarithmically to the instantaneous photocurrent I_(ph), consequently a measurement of the voltage V_(S) allows to reconstruct instantaneous photocurrent I_(ph), and thus to derive the light exposure level of the photodiode PD.

Constants k₁ and k₂ depend on details of the circuit implementation as well as on individual device parameters which can vary due to non-uniform fabrication process parameters. Consequently, k₁ and k₂ may not be identical for individual pixel circuits across an array (leading to so-called fixed pattern noise, FPN). Preferably, k₁ and k₂ are determined for each pixel individually, and their influence on the exposure measurement results are removed by calibration. Such a calibration can for example be based on a homogeneous optical stimulation of the pixel array, or on uniform electrical signal stimulation.

Before the initiation of an exposure measurement cycle, the first switch S_(s) is closed, so that the common node S is connected to the input 30 of the exposure measurement circuit 3. The voltage V_(s) at the common node S thus follows the voltage V_(front) at the output 4 of the front-end circuit 1. The voltage between the terminals of the measurement capacitor C_(S) also follows the voltage V_(front) at the output 4 of the front-end circuit 1, and consequently depends on the light exposure of the photodiode PD.

After the transient detector circuit 2 has detected a relative change in illumination, a measurement control signal V_(res,abs) is received by the exposure measurement circuit 3, which initiates an exposure measurement cycle.

Upon activation of the control signal V_(res,abs), the first switch S_(s) is opened by the measurement control signal V_(EM), thus disconnecting the measurement capacitor C_(S) from the input 30 of the exposure measurement circuit 3. At that moment, the measurement capacitor C_(S) is charged according to the instantaneous value of the common node voltage V_(S) before opening the first switch S_(S). The second switch S₂ can be simultaneously closed by means of the same measurement control signal V_(EM), or shortly after by means of another signal that controls the second switch S₂.

A reference voltage V_(ref) is applied to a reference input of the voltage comparator 11 with reference voltage V_(ref) being chosen so that in every case the relation V_(ref)<V_(s) is assured. The signal input of the voltage comparator 11 is connected to V_(S). Due to the closing of the second switch S₂, the measurement capacitor Cs is discharged by a constant current I_(dec) controlled by the current source 10. The voltage V_(S) at the signal input of the measurement comparator 11 thus decreases, with a decreasing rate that depends on the capacitance of the measurement capacitor Cs and on the intensity of the constant current I_(dec) imposed by the current source 10.

When the voltage V_(S) at the signal input of the measurement comparator 11 reaches the reference voltage V_(ref), the measurement comparator 11 switches, i.e. it toggles its output, and an end-of-measurement signal V_(req,abs) is activated by logic block 12. The time between the active edges of the control signal V_(res,abs) and the end-of-measurement signal V_(req,abs) encodes the average absolute pixel exposure measure during this time, according to the relation

${{V_{S}\left( I_{ph} \right)} - V_{ref}} = {\frac{I_{dec}}{C_{s}}T}$ where I_(dec) denotes the intensity of the constant current imposed by the current source 10, C_(s) is the capacitance of the measurement capacitor Cs, I_(ph) is the intensity of the photocurrent of the photodiode PD, and T is the time needed for the voltage V_(S) to reach the reference voltage V_(ref) (or in other words the time between the active edges of the control signal V_(res,abs) and the end-of-measurement signal V_(req,abs)). From this relation, and due to the fact that V _(s) =k ₁ ln(i I_(ph))+k ₂, the intensity I_(ph) of the photocurrent of the photodiode PD and hence the pixel light exposure can be determined.

Similar to the request signals (Vreq,rel+ and Vreq,rel−) derived from the change detection events, the exposure measurement request signals Vreq,abs are sent to a bus arbiter (not shown) which initiates and controls the transmission of data packets. In this way, the array address of the respective pixel is transmitted with low latency over an (asynchronous) data bus (not shown), thereby signaling the coordinates in space and—inherently—in time of the end-of-measurement, thus effectively transmitting the instantaneous pixel grey level value.

Alternatively, control logic 12 can contain a digital counter device that directly digitizes the time between activation of control signal V_(res,abs) and the exposure measurement request signals Vreq,abs. In this case, said transmitted data packet can contain, in addition to the pixel array address, the measured grey level digitized by the counter.

With the deactivation by control logic 12 of control measurement control signal V_(EM), the first switch S_(S) is closed, and the second switch S₂ is opened, so that voltage V_(s) at the common node S can resume tracking the photocurrent signal. The deactivation of signal V_(EM) is done by control logic 12 upon reception of an external acknowledge signal V_(ack,abs). A new exposure measurement cycle can be started as soon as initiated by the transient detector circuit 2 or by an external signal.

It shall be noted that charge injection into capacitor C_(s) occurs while opening the first switch S_(s), which influences the signal voltage V_(s). In order to minimize this charge injection, the measurement capacitor should have a high enough capacitance C_(s), and techniques for compensation such as dummy switches and balanced transistor switches or bottom-plate transistor switches can be used.

Exposure Measurement Circuit—2^(nd) Embodiment

FIG. 5 shows a simplified diagram of an example of the exposure measurement circuit 3 for measuring the photoreceptor signal according to another possible embodiment of the invention. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4 and described above, except in that the reference input of the measurement comparator 11 is connected to the reference switch S_(ref) instead of being directly connected to a reference voltage V_(ref). The reference switch S_(ref) is operable to connect the reference input of the measurement comparator 11 either to a first reference voltage V_(ref,h) or a second reference voltage V_(ref,l). The first reference voltage V_(ref,h) is higher than the second reference voltage V_(ref,l). The reference switch S_(ref) is controlled by the logic block 12.

As in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, activation of the of the measurement control signal V_(EM) by logic block 12 upon reception of control signal V_(res,abs) opens the first switch S_(s), thus disconnecting the measurement capacitor Cs from the exposure measurement input 30. Activation of the control signal V_(res,abs) also resets the logic block 12 to an initial state Z₀, and, via the logic block 12, controls the reference switch S_(ref) so that the first reference voltage V_(ref,h) is selected to be applied to the reference input of the voltage comparator 11.

As previously described, the second switch S₂ is closed and the voltage V_(s) at the signal input of the measurement comparator 11 decreases, with a decrease rate that depends on the capacitance of the measurement capacitor Cs and on the intensity of the constant current I_(dec) imposed by the current source 10. When the voltage V_(S) reaches the first reference voltage V_(ref,h), the measurement comparator 11 switches, i.e. it toggles its output, and the first end-of measurement signal V_(req,absh) is activated. The logic block 12 changes to another state Z₁, and the reference switch S_(ref) is switched so that the second reference voltage V_(ref,l) is selected to be applied to the reference input of the voltage comparator 11. The discharge of the measurement capacitor Cs continues, and after time T_(ref), the voltage V_(s) reaches the level of the second reference voltage V_(ref,l), whereby the second end-of measurement signal V_(ireq,absl) is activated. With the activation of the second end-of measurement signal V_(req,absl)logic circuit 12 is changed to an idle state Z₂, the first switch S_(S) is closed, and the second switch S₂ is opened, so that voltage V_(s) can resume tracking the photocurrent signal. A new exposure measurement cycle can then be started as soon as initiated by the transient detector circuit 2 or by an external signal.

The light exposure of the photodiode PD is measured by determining and comparing durations corresponding to the time for the voltage across the discharging capacitor C_(S) to reach the first and second reference voltages. During a measurement cycle, a relation between the different values is:

$\frac{I_{dec}}{C_{s}} = \frac{V_{{ref},h} - V_{{ref},l}}{T_{ref}}$

The first reference voltage V_(ref,h) and the second reference voltage V_(ref,l) are external voltages provided to each pixel of the array. Accordingly, the voltage difference V_(ref,h)-V_(ref,l) is the same for every pixel of an array. As previously, with T the duration for the decreasing voltage V_(s) to reach the first reference voltage V_(ref,h) the following relation still holds:

${{V_{S}\left( I_{ph} \right)} - V_{{ref},h}} = {\frac{I_{dec}}{C_{s}}T}$ Accordingly,

${{V_{S}\left( I_{ph} \right)} - V_{{ref},h}} = {\frac{V_{{ref},h} - V_{{ref},l}}{T_{ref}}T}$

It shall be noted that the exact values of the current I_(dec) imposed by the current source 10 and the capacitance C_(s) of the measurement capacitor are canceled out, and do not influence the determination of the intensity of the photocurrent I_(ph) that can be deduced. Since the intensity I_(dec) and the capacitance C_(s) may differ from a pixel to another, and are prone to be affected by fabrication process parameter variation, a determination of intensity of the photocurrent I_(ph) independent from such values is more reliable.

Similar to the first embodiment of the exposure measurement circuit, both signals Vreq,absh and Vreq,absl are sent to a bus arbiter (not shown) which initiates and controls the transmission of data packets. In this way, the array address of the respective pixel is transmitted with low latency over an (asynchronous) data bus (not shown), thereby signaling the coordinates in space and (inherently) in time of the first and second threshold voltage crossings (signifying beginning and end of an exposure measurement, respectively), thus effectively transmitting the instantaneous pixel grey level value.

Again similar to the first embodiment of the exposure measurement circuit, control logic 12 can contain a digital counter device that directly digitizes the time between (activation of) signals Vreq,absh and Vreq,absl. In this case, only Vreq,absl is sent to the bus arbiter (not shown) which initiates and controls the transmission of data packets, along with the result of said digitization. Hence, the transmitted data packet can contain, in addition to the pixel array address, the measured grey level digitized by the counter.

Alternative Exposure Measurement Circuit

In an alternative embodiment illustrated by FIG. 10, the exposure measurement circuit 3 is constituted by a sample-and-hold circuit 100 that samples the output 4 of the front-end circuit 1 at the time of activation by the transient detector circuit 2 of control signal V_(res,abs). The output 101 of the sample-and-hold circuit 100 is connected to a pixel-external voltage analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 102. One ADC 102 per pixel array or one ADC 102 per pixel column can be arranged. The output 103 of the ADC 102 is connected to a data bus (not shown).

Similar to the previous embodiments, activation of the sample-and-hold circuit 100 is controlled by control signal V_(res,abs) from transient detector circuit 2. After completed sample operation of the instantaneous voltage level at the output 4 of the front-end circuit upon reception of active control signal V_(res,abs), the sampled voltage is sent to the ADC via output 101 for analog-to-digital conversion. After completed analog-to-digital conversion, the result of the conversion along with the pixel array address is transmitted to a bus arbiter (not shown) which initiates and controls the transmission of data packets. In this way, the array address of the respective pixel and its instantaneous grey level are transmitted with low latency over an (asynchronous) data bus (not shown).

Photoreceptor Circuit—Prior Art Embodiment

The photoreceptor circuit 5 of the front-end circuit 1 can for example be the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,728,269, which is depicted in FIG. 6. This circuit comprises an output 50 for delivering the photoreceptor signal derived from the light exposure of the single photodiode PD, said photoreceptor signal being constituted by a front voltage Vfront. It also comprises a first photoreceptor transistor Mp1 having a drain and a gate, the gate of said first photoreceptor Mp1 being connected to said output 50. A second photoreceptor transistor Mp2 has its gate connected to the photodiode PD and its source is grounded (i.e. connected to a low supply voltage) while its drain is connected to the source of a third photoreceptor transistor Mp3, whose gate is biased by a biasing voltage Vbias,cas. The drain of the third photoreceptor transistor Mp3 is connected to the output 50, thus also to the gate of the first photoreceptor transistor Mp1. The drain of the third photoreceptor transistor Mp3 is also connected to the drain of a fourth photoreceptor transistor Mp4, whose gate is biased by a biasing voltage Vbias,pr and whose source is connected to a high supply voltage Vdd. The first photoreceptor transistor Mp1, the second photoreceptor transistor Mp2 and the third photoreceptor transistor Mp3 are N-type MOSFETs, while the fourth photoreceptor transistor Mp4 is a P-type MOSFET.

The output voltage Vfront shows a logarithmic relation to the photocurrent I_(ph):

$V_{front} = {{n_{{Mp}\; 1} \cdot V_{t} \cdot {\ln\left( {\frac{L_{{Mp}\; 1}}{W_{{Mp}\; 1}}\frac{I_{ph}}{I_{0,{{Mp}\; 1}}}} \right)}} - V_{D}}$ where

-   -   n_(Mp1) is the sub-threshold slope factor of the first         photoreceptor transistor Mp1,     -   V_(t) is the thermal voltage,     -   L_(Mp1) is the channel length of the first photoreceptor         transistor Mp1,     -   W_(Mp1) is the channel width of the first photoreceptor         transistor Mp1,     -   I_(0,Mp1) is the sub-threshold saturation current of the first         photoreceptor transistor Mp1, and     -   V_(D) is the reverse voltage across the photodiode PD.

A change in the photocurrent I_(ph) from a first value I_(ph1) to a second value I_(ph2) causes a change ΔV_(front) of the output voltage V_(front) according to:

${\Delta\; V_{front}} = {n_{{Mp}\; 1} \cdot V_{t} \cdot {\ln\left( \frac{I_{{ph}\; 2}}{I_{{ph}\; 1}} \right)}}$

Due to the feedback of the output 50 to the input of the amplifier constituted by transistors Mp2, Mp3 and Mp4, the bandwidth of the photoreceptor element is significantly increased compared to non-feedback logarithmic photoreceptor circuits. The 3-dB frequency, which corresponds to the half power point, is approximately calculated as

$f_{3\; d\; B} = {{\frac{1}{2\pi}{\frac{1}{\frac{C_{D}}{v} + C_{{{Mp}\; 1},a}} \cdot \frac{I_{ph}}{V_{t}}}} \cong {\frac{1}{2\pi}{\frac{1}{C_{{{Mp}\; 1},a}} \cdot \frac{I_{ph}}{V_{t}}}}}$ with

-   -   C_(Mp1,a) is the capacitance between the source of the first         photoreceptor transistor Mp1 and the output of the amplifier         constituted by the second, third and fourth photoreceptor         transistors Mp2, Mp3 and Mp4, which is also the output 50 of the         photoreceptor circuit 5,     -   C_(D) is the junction capacitance of the photodiode PD,     -   V_(t) is the thermal voltage, and     -   v is the small signal gain of the amplifier constituted by the         second, third and fourth photoreceptor transistors Mp2, Mp3 and         Mp4.

It shall be noted that the capacitance C_(Mp1,a) depends mainly on the gate-source overlap capacitance of the first photoreceptor transistor Mp1, which is proportional to its channel width. For usual large values of the small signal gain v, the 3 dB frequency of the circuit, in comparison to a configuration without feedback, is no longer dominated by the capacitance of the photodiode PD, but by the much smaller gate-source overlap capacitance of the first photoreceptor transistor Mp1.

Improved Photoreceptor Circuit

FIG. 7 shows another circuit exhibiting significant improvements with respect to the gain and the bandwidth. The improved circuit is also a logarithmic, continuous-time photoreceptor circuit with feedback for improving the bandwidth, but compared to the photoreceptor circuit of FIG. 6, an additional fifth photoreceptor transistor Mp5 is arranged between the photodiode PD and the first photoreceptor transistor Mp1.

Accordingly, the improved photoreceptor circuit 5 of FIG. 7, comprises an output 50 for delivering the photoreceptor signal derived from the light exposure of said single photodiode, said photoreceptor signal being constituted by a voltage Vfront. It comprises a first photoreceptor transistor Mp1 having a drain and a gate, the gate of said first photoreceptor Mp1 being connected to said output 50. It also comprises a fifth photoreceptor transistor Mp5 having a drain, a source and a gate, the source of said fifth photoreceptor transistor Mp5 being connected to the single photodiode PD and the gate of fifth photoreceptor transistor Mp5 being biased by a biasing voltage Vbias,d. The first photoreceptor transistor Mp1 and the fifth photoreceptor transistor Mp5 have a common source.

The other photoreceptor transistors are arranged in a way similar to the circuit of FIG. 6, constituting an amplifier. A second photoreceptor transistor Mp2 has its gate connected to the photodiode PD and to the drain of the fifth photoreceptor transistor Mp5. Its source is grounded (i.e. connected to a low supply voltage) while its drain is connected to the source of a third photoreceptor transistor Mp3, whose gate is biased by a biasing voltage Vbias,cas. The drain of the third photoreceptor transistor Mp3 is connected to the output 50, thus also to the gate of the first photoreceptor transistor Mp1. The drain of the third photoreceptor transistor Mp3 is also connected to the drain of a fourth photoreceptor transistor Mp4, whose gate is biased by a biasing voltage Vbias,pr and whose source is connected to a high supply voltage Vdd. The first photoreceptor transistor Mp1, the second photoreceptor transistor Mp2 and the third photoreceptor transistor Mp3 are N-type MOSFET, while the fifth photoreceptor transistor Mp5 and the fourth photoreceptor transistor Mp4 are P-type MOSFET.

Regarding the gain increase, the output voltage V_(front) of the circuit of FIG. 6 still depends logarithmically on the photocurrent intensity I_(ph):

$V_{front} = {{n_{{Mp}\; 1} \cdot V_{t} \cdot {\ln\left( {\frac{L_{{Mp}\; 1}}{W_{{Mp}\; 1}}\frac{I_{ph}}{I_{0,{{Mp}\; 1}}}} \right)}} + {n_{{Mp}\; 5} \cdot V_{t} \cdot {\ln\left( {\frac{L_{{Mp}\; 5}}{W_{{Mp}\; 5}}\frac{I_{ph}}{I_{0,{{Mp}\; 5}}}} \right)}} + V_{{bias},d}}$ with

-   -   n_(Mp5) being the sub-threshold slope factor of the fifth         photoreceptor transistor Mp5,     -   L_(Mp5) is the channel length of the first photoreceptor         transistor Mp5,     -   W_(Mp5) is the channel width of the first photoreceptor         transistor Mp5,     -   I_(0,Mp5) is the sub-threshold saturation current of the first         photoreceptor transistor Mp5, and     -   V_(bias,d) the biasing voltage applied to the gate of the fifth         photoreceptor transistor Mp5.

A change in the photocurrent I_(ph) from a first value I_(ph1) to a second value I_(ph2) causes a change ΔV_(front) of the output voltage V_(front) according to:

${\Delta\; V_{front}} = {{n_{{Mp}\; 1} \cdot V_{t} \cdot {\ln\left( \frac{I_{{ph}\; 2}}{I_{{ph}\; 1}} \right)}} + {n_{{Mp}\; 5} \cdot V_{t} \cdot {\ln\left( \frac{I_{{ph}\; 2}}{I_{{ph}\; 1}} \right)}}}$ Assuming that n_(Mp1)≈n_(Mp5), it can be simplified to:

${\Delta\; V_{front}} \approx {2 \cdot n_{{Mp}\; 1} \cdot V_{t} \cdot {\ln\left( \frac{I_{{ph}\; 2}}{I_{{ph}\; 1}} \right)}}$ Accordingly, the gain is doubled with respect to the photoreceptor circuit of FIG. 6.

The increased gain achieved by the photoreceptor circuit of FIG. 7 allows for smaller current intensity changes ΔI_(ph) of the photocurrent I_(ph) to be detected since in response to a certain change ΔI_(ph) in the intensity of the photocurrent I_(ph), the resulting voltage change is increased by a doubled gain. Further, since the resulting voltage change is increased before the input of a following amplifier, such as the switched-capacitor differencing amplifier of the transient detector circuit 3, the gain of such a following amplifier can be smaller while achieving the same overall temporal contrast (i.e. relative change) sensitivity, leading to a significant reduction of the CMOS device size, especially the capacitor size of a switched-capacitor amplifier.

Regarding the bandwidth, the 3-dB frequency, which corresponds to the half power point, is approximately calculated as

$f_{3\; d\; B} \approx {\frac{1}{2\pi}{\frac{1}{C_{{{Mp}\; 5},{DS}}} \cdot \frac{I_{ph}}{V_{t}}}}$ where C_(Mp5,DS) is the drain-source coupling capacitance of the fifth transistor Mp5. In general, this capacitance is significantly smaller than the gate-source overlap capacitance C_(Mp1) of the first photoreceptor transistor Mp1 that used to determine the 3-dB frequency in the circuit of FIG. 6. The bandwidth is therefore increased by the ratio C_(Mp5,DS)/C_(Mp1).

Due to the increased bandwidth of the photoreceptor circuit 5, the response delay of the transient detector circuit 2 is significantly reduced, and the temporal resolution of the pixel circuit and thus of the sensor device is improved.

Alternatively, the gate of the fifth photoreceptor transistor Mp5 can be connected to its source instead of being driven by a biasing voltage Vbias,d. In this configuration however, while the voltage gain is still doubled, there is no increase of the bandwidth.

Gain Stage

FIG. 8 shows a simplified diagram of an example of a pre-amplifier gain stage 6 for amplifying the signal Vfront at the output of the photoreceptor circuit 5, instead of a conventional follower buffer.

The pre-amplifier gain stage 6 comprises an input connected to the output of the photoreceptor circuit 5 for receiving the photoreceptor signal Vfront, and an output connected both to the input of the transient detector circuit 2 and to the input of the exposure measurement circuit 3, for delivering the amplified photoreceptor signal Vamp. The pre-amplifier gain stage 6 comprises a first gain transistor Mg1 having a drain, a source and a gate. The gate of the first gain transistor Mg1 is connected to the input of the gain stage, i.e. to the output of the photoreceptor circuit 5. The source of the first gain transistor Mg1 is connected to a reference biasing voltage Vbias,ref and the drain of said first gain transistor Mg1 is connected to the output of the gain stage. The first gain transistor Mg1 is an N-channel type MOS transistor.

The pre-amplifier gain stage 6 also comprises a plurality of gain transistors Mg2, Mgk in series, each one of these gain transistor Mg2, Mgk having a drain, a source and a gate, and each one of these gain transistors Mg2, Mgk in series having its drain connected to its gate (diode-connected transistors). One of these gain transistors in series has its drain connected to the drain of the first gain transistor Mg1 and is referred to as Mg2. Accordingly, this gain transistor Mg2 has its gate connected to the output of the gain stage 6. The gain transistors in series are P-channel type MOS transistors.

The described gain stage 6 is a common-source amplifier, the first gain transistor Mg1 being an N-MOS input transistor and the series of diode-connected P-MOS gain transistors Mg2, Mgk being a load. Such a structure with diode-connected load has a gain which is not strongly dependent on dimensions, so that dimension-related mismatch influence is reduced, which improve fixed-pattern noise (FPN) performance of the pixel array.

There are at least two diode-connected gain transistors in series Mg2, Mgk, i.e. k=3. Preferably, more diode-connected gain transistors are arranged in series. In preferred embodiments, three or four diode-connected gain transistors are connected in series. The maximum number of such diode-connected gain transistors are arranged in series is determined by the input voltage swing, i.e. the expected upper level of the input voltage Vfront such that the gate-source voltage across the series of diode-connected transistors Mg2 to Mgk is not limited by the resulting output voltage Vamp.

If the gain stage circuit 6 is operated in the sub-threshold region, and assuming equal dimensions for the diode-connected gain transistors in series Mg2 to Mgk, the output voltage V_(amp) is calculated as follows:

$V_{amp} = {V_{DD} - {\left( {k - 1} \right) \cdot n_{{Mg}\; 2} \cdot V_{t} \cdot {\ln\left( {\frac{L_{{Mg}\; 2}}{W_{{Mg}\; 2}}\frac{W_{{Mg}\; 1}}{L_{{Mg}\; 1}}\frac{I_{0,{{Mg}\; 1}}}{I_{0,{{Mg}\; 2}}}} \right)}} - {{\left( {k - 1} \right) \cdot \frac{n_{{Mg}\; 2}}{n_{{Mg}\; 1}}}\left( {V_{front} - V_{{bias},{ref}}} \right)}}$ Where

-   -   V_(DD) is the high supply voltage,     -   n_(Mg1) and n_(Mg2) are the sub-threshold slope factors of the         gain transistors Mg1 and Mg2, respectively,     -   V_(t) is the thermal voltage,     -   L_(Mg1) and L_(Mg2) are the channel lengths of the first gain         transistor Mg1 and of the second gain transistors Mg2,         respectively,     -   W_(Mg1) and W_(Mg2) are the channel widths of the first gain         transistor Mg1 and of the second gain transistors Mg2,         respectively,     -   I_(0,Mg1) and I_(0,Mg2) are the sub-threshold saturation         currents of the first gain transistor Mg1 and of the second gain         transistors Mg2, respectively.

An input voltage change ΔV_(front) results in an output voltage change ΔV_(amp) of:

${\Delta\; V_{amp}} = {{- \left( {k - 1} \right)}\frac{n_{{Mg}\; 2}}{n_{{Mg}\; 1}}\Delta\; V_{front}}$

The gain thus provided by the gain stage 6 allows for smaller current intensity changes ΔI_(ph) of the photocurrent I_(ph) to be detected since in response to a certain change ΔI_(ph) in the intensity of the photocurrent I_(ph), the resulting voltage change is increased by a (k−1)-fold gain. Further, since the resulting voltage change is increased before the input of a following amplifier, such as the switched-capacitor differencing amplifier of the transient detector circuit 3, the gain of such a following amplifier can be smaller while achieving the same overall contrast sensitivity, leading to a significant reduction of the CMOS device size, especially the capacitor size of a switched-capacitor amplifier.

Using a gain stage 6 according to FIG. 8, connected to the output 50 of a photoreceptor circuit 5 such as depicted in FIG. 6 or 7, a photocurrent-dependent bandwidth limitation can be achieved. The gain stage then provides an automatic, photocurrent-controlled noise reduction by self-adjusting its bandwidth. The 3 dB frequency, which corresponds to the half power point, is proportional to the current I_(Mg1) flowing through the first gain transistor Mg1: f_(3dB)˜I_(Mg1) with the current I_(Mg1) through the first gain transistor Mg1 depending on the voltage difference V_(front)-V_(bias,ref). With first gain transistor Mg1 operating in the sub-threshold region, the 3 dB frequency is proportional to:

${\left. f_{3\; d\; B} \right.\sim\frac{W_{{Mg}\; 1}}{L_{{Mg}\; 1}}}I_{0,{{Mg}\; 1}}e^{\frac{V_{front} - V_{{bias},{ref}}}{n_{{Mg}\; 1} \cdot V_{t}}}$

With equally sized transistors for the first photoreceptor transistor Mp1 of the photoreceptor circuit 5 as in FIGS. 6 and 7 and for the first gain transistor Mg1 of the gain stage 6, and with a biasing reference voltage V_(bias,ref) equal to the reverse voltage V_(D) across the photodiode PD, it follows that the 3 dB frequency is proportional to the photocurrent I_(ph): f_(3dB)˜I_(ph)

Since the reverse voltage V_(D) across the photodiode PD is approximately independent of the photocurrent I_(ph), the biasing reference voltage V_(bias,ref) can be derived globally for all pixels in an array using a dummy circuit with a covered photodiode in a photoreceptor circuit such as the one of FIG. 6 or 7, with the output voltage of such a photoreceptor circuit used as the biasing reference voltage V_(bias,ref).

The gain stage circuit 6 can thus replace a conventional source follower for effectively decoupling the sensitive front-end circuit 1 from the subsequent circuits, i.e. the transient detector circuit 2 and the exposure measurement circuit 3, and photocurrent-dependent bandwidth control and additional signal amplification can be achieved.

FIG. 9 shows an image sensor 90 comprising a plurality of pixel circuits 91 according to possible embodiments of the invention as described above. The depicted pixel circuits 91 are arranged in an array. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A pixel circuit comprising: a front-end circuit comprising a photodiode and an output and configured to deliver on the output a photoreceptor signal derived from a light exposure of the photodiode; a transient detector circuit connected to the output of the front-end circuit and configured for continuously monitoring the photoreceptor signal and detecting changes in the photoreceptor signal delivered on the output, the changes including increases and decreases in the photoreceptor signal; and an exposure measurement circuit connected to the output of the front-end circuit and configured for measuring the light exposure of the photodiode upon detection by the transient detector circuit of each change in the photoreceptor signal, wherein the exposure measurement circuit comprises a sample-and-hold circuit configured to sample the photoreceptor signal at the output of the front-end circuit at a time of activation of an exposure measurement, and wherein the sample-and-hold circuit is controlled by a control signal sent by the transient detector circuit upon detection of each change in the photoreceptor signal to initiate the exposure measurement.
 2. The pixel circuit according to claim , wherein the exposure measurement circuit is further configured to output the sampled photoreceptor signal to an analog-to-digital converter.
 3. The pixel circuit according to claim 2, wherein the analog-to-digital converter is external to the pixel circuit.
 4. The pixel circuit according to claim 2, wherein the analog-to-digital converter is configured to convert the sampled photoreceptor signal to a digital result and to transmit the digital result to a bus arbiter configured to initiate and control transmission of data packets.
 5. The pixel circuit according to claim 4, wherein the analog-to-digital converter is configured to transmit an address of the pixel circuit with the digital result.
 6. The pixel circuit according to claim 1, wherein the transient detector circuit comprises: an amplifier having two single-ended inverting common-source stages with capacitive feedback separated by a follower buffer, wherein a first capacitor of the transient detector circuit is charged by the photoreceptor signal; and at least one threshold detector arranged to detect if a voltage over a second capacitor exceeds a threshold value.
 7. The pixel circuit according to claim 1, wherein the front-end circuit further comprises a photoreceptor circuit configured to derive the photoreceptor signal based on a logarithm of the light exposure of the photodiode.
 8. The pixel circuit according to claim 7, wherein the photoreceptor circuit comprises: an input connected to the photodiode; an output; a first photoreceptor transistor having a gate, the gate of the first photoreceptor transistor being connected to the output of the photoreceptor circuit; a second photoreceptor transistor having a source, a drain, and a gate, the gate of the second photoreceptor transistor being connected to the photodiode and the source of the second photoreceptor transistor being grounded; and at least one third photoreceptor transistor in series with the second photoreceptor transistor having a drain, a source and a gate, the source of the at least one third photoreceptor transistor being connected to the drain of the second photoreceptor transistor, the gate of the at least one third photoreceptor transistor being biased, and the drain of the at least one third photoreceptor transistor being connected to the output of the photoreceptor circuit.
 9. The pixel circuit according to claim 8, wherein the photoreceptor circuit further comprises a fourth photoreceptor transistor having a drain, a source and a gate, the drain of the fourth photoreceptor transistor being connected to the photodiode, the gate of the fourth photoreceptor transistor being biased, and the source of the fourth photoreceptor transistor being shared with the source of the first photoreceptor transistor.
 10. The pixel circuit according to claim 9, wherein the first photoreceptor transistor and the second photoreceptor transistor comprise n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), the at least one third photoreceptor transistor comprises an n-type MOSFET and a p-type MOSFET, and the fourth photoreceptor transistor comprises a p-type MOSFET.
 11. The pixel circuit according to claim 8, wherein the first photoreceptor transistor and the second photoreceptor transistor comprise n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), and the at least one third photoreceptor transistor comprises an n-type MOSFET and a p-type MOSFET.
 12. The pixel circuit according to claim 1, wherein the front-end circuit further comprises a gain stage for amplifying the photoreceptor signal delivered on the output of the front-end circuit.
 13. The pixel circuit according to claim 12, wherein the gain stage comprises: an input connected to the output of a photoreceptor circuit; an output; a first gain transistor having a drain, a source and a gate, the gate of the first gain transistor being connected to the input of the gain stage, the source of the first gain transistor being connected to a biasing voltage, and the drain of the first gain transistor being connected to the output of the gain stage; and a plurality of gain transistors in series, each gain transistor of the series having a drain, a source and a gate, one of the plurality of gain transistors having its drain connected to the drain of the first gain transistor, and each gain transistor in others of the plurality of gain transistors having its drain connected to its gate.
 14. The pixel circuit according to claim 1, wherein the sample-and-hold circuit comprises a switch configured to be closed before the time of activation of the exposure measurement and to be opened at the time of activation of the exposure measurement.
 15. An image sensor comprising a plurality of pixel circuits, wherein each pixel circuit comprises: a front-end circuit comprising a single photodiode and an output, the front-end circuit being configured for delivering on the output a photoreceptor signal derived from a light exposure of the single photodiode; a transient detector circuit connected to the output of the front-end circuit and configured for continuously monitoring the photoreceptor signal and detecting changes in the photoreceptor signal delivered on the output, the changes including increases and decreases in the photoreceptor signal; and an exposure measurement circuit connected to the output of the front-end circuit and configured for measuring the light exposure of the single photodiode upon detection by the transient detector circuit of each change in the photoreceptor signal, wherein the exposure measurement circuit comprises a sample-and-hold circuit configured to sample the photoreceptor signal at the output of the front-end circuit at a time of activation of an exposure measurement, and wherein the sample-and-hold circuit is controlled by a control signal sent by the transient detector circuit upon detection of each change in the photoreceptor signal to initiate the exposure measurement.
 16. The image sensor according to claim 15, wherein the exposure measurement circuit is further configured to output the sampled photoreceptor signal to an analog-to-digital converter.
 17. The image sensor according to claim 16, wherein the analog-to-digital converter is external to the plurality of pixel circuits.
 18. The image sensor according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of pixel circuits are arranged in columns, and the image sensor further comprises a plurality of analog-to-digital converters, each analog-to-digital converter connected to one of the columns.
 19. The image sensor according to claim 15, wherein the front-end circuit further comprises a gain stage for amplifying the photoreceptor signal delivered on the output of the front-end circuit, and wherein each gain stage in the plurality of pixel circuits uses a same bias voltage.
 20. A method for operating a pixel circuit that comprises a front-end circuit including a single photodiode and an output, a transient detector connected to the output of the front-end circuit, and an exposure measurement circuit comprising a sample-and-hold circuit connected to the output of the front-end circuit, the method comprising: delivering, on the output of the front-end circuit, a photoreceptor signal derived from a light exposure of the single photodiode; detecting, with the transient detector, changes in the photoreceptor signal delivered on the output, the changes including increases and decreases in the photoreceptor signal; transmitting, from the transient detector and to the sample-and-hold circuit, a control signal upon detection of each change in the photoreceptor signal; and sampling, with the sample-and-hold circuit and in response to the control signal, the light exposure of the single photodiode-upon detection by the transient detector circuit of each change in the photoreceptor signal.
 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: initiating a light exposure measurement cycle by the exposure measurement circuit in response to an externally applied control signal that is independent from any detection by the transient detector of changes in the photoreceptor signal. 